While in Evansville, IN a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting a new cousin, Mildred Moore Robinson. When she saw my book cover she was very surprised and told me that she had the same picture in an old album. It turned out that the photograph she had was an original and had my great-great-grandfather’s name (Emanuel Washington) written on the back of it. He he had paid forty cents for the photograph which was nearly a day’s pay. The photo had been passed to his daughter Martha Washington White, who was Ms. Robinson’s maternal grandmother. I was honored when Cousin Mildred gave me the photograph.

I just returned from Evansville, IN after a very busy two days. I gave a presentation at Willard Library, Evansville African American Museum and a book signing, gave television and radio interviews, and spoke to nearly 100 elementary, junior high, and high school students at three schools. One television interview will air on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 6:00 P.M. on WNIN-NPR.

I’m starting on my Book Tour. I’ll be going to Evansville, IN to speak at a museum, to school, and other venues. I will also be on television and radio. My dates there will be Friday Feb. 6 to Saturday. These events were set up by my Washington cousins. For years at every program some would ask “When is your book coming out?” Now I can answer, “Here it is!” You can see all the events: http://wessyngton.com/Index/Appearances

As Oprah Winfrey and other African Americans have often stated, with the election of Barack Obama, it is finally time for African Americans to embrace their past, and to learn who they are. My research and my book can give the history that would be a building block for a strong today and tomorrow. I tell the stories of my ancestors and 274 African Americans who were enslaved on a tobacco plantation near Nashville. And the stories are the stories of real people based on documents and interviews with descendants. What comes through are stories of survival, of family, and of community. President Obama stated that one of the themes of his inauguration would be “coming together.” My research is an example of that phenomenon. Descendants of the plantation owners shared their photographs and remembrances with me; one of them sponsored some of the many DNA tests I conducted.